


Atropa

by gunnarsson



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Abuse, Haruno/Senju Interweaving, I'm gonna stop making tags now, Ino and Sakura are never NOT friends, Just Friendship, Mentions of Death, No pairings - Freeform, Protective Parents, Trauma, Trust Issues, bloodline, don't do it Sakura, don't eat flowers, kind of a sibling to it though, light gore, manipulative parents, never mokuton, not mokuton though, that is the only spoiler you get, unless..., unnamed bloodline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:08:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21748036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gunnarsson/pseuds/gunnarsson
Summary: A Sakura fic in league with - if not directly meshed with - my other fanfiction Warmth.(I am not stopping on Warmth, I just wanna write more about Sakura, sometimes.)In which Sakura finds a way to grow under the secretive, almost absurdly protective way her parents raise her.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

Sakura remembered the first time her mother flew into a panic. It was not the very first, but this was the only time she was removed from the Academy for a week. Even her friend Ino couldn't visit - her parent's claiming she was the one who made the problem, and the young Yamanaka could not fix it, nor could she know about it, she simply wasn't allowed. Her father went and got her school work, claiming she had a terrible cold. It just worked that way, she supposed.

Her mother scolded her for breaking a rule - one of many, but it seemed that this was the most important. Her mother took scissors through her long, pink hair as she was talked down to.

"You should have known better than to drink that tea, Sakura. We have been over this how many times now?" Mebuki sighed, clipping. Snip, snip, snip, through her hair. The stems made audible cracks under the pressure of the blade, stronger than regular flowers assuredly. Flowers fell to the floor, swept up by her father, then tossed into the garbage. He looked pale, internalizing his panic versus lashing out at her. Her mother was rough with her besides the point, pulling, tugging and separating her hair until her scalp ached. She hunted for every last petal, vine and bud. At least her father spared her from having both parents get after her obvious wrong-doing. Even though the very moment Ino mentioned the word ' _Rose_ ', the pinkette burst out of the room, Iruka-sensei's worried crow following after her.

"No one can know you are able to do this, sweetie. There are a lot of bad people. We've told you so many times that they could take you away from us forever. You're lucky your hair had just started to curl and bud when you rushed home." 

Just like when they were at the park and she had eaten a few petals of a daisy, _compelled_ to by some unworldly force. Her blood had hummed for it.

The tea had tasted _divine_ though, Sakura mused dreamily, yanked away from it as her mother tugged a stem out by the root. It didn't hurt - maybe it stung just a tiny bit, but nothing regarding the flowers were truly painful... except... 

A full pink rose fell from her hair. Her father grimaced and stepped forward with pliers. She shrank back, her mother's arms wrapped around her in protective _warmth,_ comfortingly tight. Sakura would not be moving anywhere as they went through this, it seemed. Perhaps it was for the best. Tears wet her lashes, afraid of the unknown, looking up to her father as she spoke, lisp heavy like the _thorns_ that grew as fangs over her incisors: "Won't they fall out, papa?"

"Not any time soon, I'm sorry sweetie. You want to go to school tomorrow, right? You have already missed so much time." Kizashi hummed sympathetically, pushing her top lip up as her mother cupped her chin on both sides. Being reluctant would only make things worse... and Sakura did very much want to return to school, to learning and her friends.

  
"No flowers, _especially_ those with thorns."

"Yes mama, papa."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I like writing about Sakura growing and learning.

Ino was a confident force in Sakura's life. A lion amongst sheep, of which the pinkette thought herself the meekest of all. While her parents praised her careful, withdrawn, nearly subservient behavior, her best friend abhorred it. There was _no_ room in their life together for 'if's, 'and's, or 'but's.

A warm hand holding her own, tugging her forward into a life surrounded by friends was what Sakura knew. She didn't resist much, either. That was why, after the longest session of pruning and her mouth aching and bleeding, upon returning to the Academy, she was _swarmed_ with hugs.

Even Shikamaru bestowed a lazy clap and shake to her shoulder. It was hard to flinch away from the shower of love. There were no people here who told her not to do this or that, no restrictions against trying to be _more_ than who she was now. It was safe to try with her friends, just like Naruto, who, once wild and alone, desperate, had settled into a soft, admirable friendship with Sasuke.

Sakura wanted so **badly** to breach the tight knit they had together and bring them into the fold.

It seemed Ino felt the same way.

One afternoon outside, while they practiced with kunai (none of them experienced enough to throw shuriken), the pinkette took Ino's hand and walked with purpose to the boys, sucking in a breath as dark and bright eyes met her own.

No, this wasn't a crush, a quest for love... It was an olive branch. An offer that would change their lifetime together for the better:

"We were wondering if you wanted to practice with us?"

Ino beamed when she looked back for reassurance. The agreeableness, the warmth that flooded her was nauseatingly good. It took her a moment to center her focus back to the boys, seeing Naruto had gathered their bags and kunai. He shrugged at Sasuke, who in turn nodded and faced the girls with a soft smile, _not unlike those his mother and brother gave to him._

"That sounds nice. Lead the way." He said, gesturing with a held kunai to the group who stood at a distance, curious and eager.

And though they did not join _every time_ , she saw Sasuke and Naruto rely more on their group in class, especially the other boys. In her mind, she pictured herself like a sun, gathering all the sunflowers she wished, to guide them. Almost like their Hokage and the will of fire.

But she was blazing.

When she got home, she felt confidence she had never had before. Mebuki was caught by her daughter, barraged with questions about what she **could** do with the flowers and herbs. What she **could** eat without it altering her with this strange, buried Haruno trait. If there was _anything_ she could read.

"If", she asked, determined not to let her parents down, "there is anything I could do to become stronger, so you don't have to protect me."

Even when she went to bed with a red mark plastered to her cheek, Sakura was smiling. She had a handful of not-very-helpful answers and an even better promise that once she was assigned a team, she would be able to learn as much as she wanted. Then she would have a jounin-sensei to protect her and two, budding teammates.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another! Just to get the ball rolling.

It was taking a lot longer than Sakura wanted to graduate. Not that the months weren't passing by. It had already been five since her mother told her she would divulge the sensitive truth of ability, the Haruno bloodline. There were two months left before graduation and she was reeling. Already she has gone through every book in the home, scrounging knowledge and finding nothing on the Haruno clan. The only notable earth affinity users had been the Senju and one of the current kages.

The most of it was blasé, surrounding Kohonagakure and its bloodline residents to _some_ detail. None of them went over the idea that some bloodlines skipped generations. Even the Inuzuka had their prominent features without fail. It was when she exhausted all that she could read when she posted a delicate question to her parents over breakfast.

"Is our family from another village?"

Her father did not seem shy about telling her this at least. He spoke through a mouthful of rice and eggs. "You're right, honey. We came from Kirigakure. It was too violent and posed far too much risk to keep you there. To keep _us_ there once we discovered you had such a rare ability."

"Does it have a name?"

Mebuki's gaze narrowed slightly as she sipped a glass of orange juice. She set it down and picked up her chopsticks, spooning a bit more of her broken omelette onto Sakura's plate. "It doesn't. If it did, we would know more about it, too."

Panic swelled in Sakura. Did that mean her mother didn't know anything about it after all? Her father? What _did_ they know, or were they lying to her this entire time? She forced herself to take a bite of the gifted food before asking the next question:

"Could I read about Kirigakure?"

Her father and mother responded immediately, physically, that is. They both grew incredibly tense. Her father's chopsticks snapped, her mother's face grew blotchy, eyes wet and nervous. She tried to answer without reflexive violence. It was harder than Mebuki ever thought. Kirigakure was something they wanted to bury. This ability, however it spawned, had either come from there... Or somewhere. It brought back horrible memories.

**They didn't want to associate bad memories with their daughter.**

"When you are a genin... Just like we said about your ability. We'll get you signed up for the library and you can exhaust yourself there about Ki-Kirig-" Her mother stammered and stuffed a piece of toast in her mouth, trying to quell the anxious storm inside.

Her father nodded, even as Sakura opened her mouth for her _next_ question. "We don't like to talk about that place, sweetie, but when you get your jounin sensei you should be able to ask them what it is like there, first hand."

Sakura noticed how his voice wobbled and simmered down immediately, not wanting to upset her parents more. It was easy to be subdued when they were stressed.

"I'm sorry Mama, Papa, I'll wait." She assured them. After all, it was hard to be upset when your parents had your best interest in mind. Ino told her that when her parents wouldn't let her grow her hair out until she was better about brushing the back of it. They let her have her ears pierced before they let it grow out.

Mebuki packed her lunch and sent her off, reminding her to keep to her own food and not to accept anything that had flowers or herbs involved, no matter how good it smelled. 

She made her way to the academy and was no sooner approached by her sensei, Iruka, though she had been trying her best to avoid him since he pulled her aside to discuss the welt on her cheek from the night she pushed her mother too far.

"Hello, Sakura-chan," He greeted, walking slower for her, so she might keep pace. He had his own bag with him, likely filled with graded papers and a lunch of his own. 

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei." She replied, nervousness building up in her. Her parents weren't monsters, she convinced herself. They were simply afraid of her questions, afraid of the past, as she just learned. They refused to speak about it - about _her_ \--

It made her think enough to stop walking. He stopped too, but she hadn't noticed that yet, chewing on her thumb in thought. Did her parents want to protect her, or were they protecting themselves _from_ her? Was her ability... _dangerous?_

"Sakura-chan? Is everything alright?"

She refocused, curiosity burning ever brighter within. There were only two long, impatient months until she had the library and her parents promise fulfilled.

"I'm fine, Iruka-sensei, just lost in thought."

They made it to class without further interruption, gladly, animatedly talking about the next subject, something that she desperately wanted to discuss with her peers: **Bloodlines.**


	4. Chapter 4

Bloodlines, as wrote on the chalkboard, _fascinated_ Sakura.

She had known little other than what Ino divulged, but now she learned that the Nara had an affinity for shadows, the Aburame pledged their bodies and loyalty to bugs - mostly beetles - she didn't understand why they didn't use anything neat like butterflies, but she didn't raise her hand. No, that would have been rude. And if her parents did raise her to be anything, it was demure and relatively soft spoken. Not rude. Ino, however, asked a boy named Shino immediately what bugs he had, to which he sent a single drone marching across the table she and Sakura sat at. And what a march it was. Ino, surprisingly, wasn't grossed out or phased by this, to Sakura's delight.

She explained as she let the beetle move across her hands, flipping and turning it to see the oil-slick pattern that shimmered across its wings. "I see bugs all the time in the flowers at papa's shop. It would be silly to freak out when I've been playing with ants and caterpillars since I was in diapers."

"Very insightful, Yamanaka-san!" Their teacher chirped, moving on from bugs to eyes, pointing out the coveted Byakugan and Sharingan. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably under the attention, but all of his friends, Naruto especially, gave him their silent encouragement. Only those who thought it elite gossiped among themselves, and eye-rolling was abound. She spoke up, feeling a bubble of desperation fill her.

"What about _body_ -based bloodlines other than the eyes? Do we have those in Konoha?"

Choji quickly stuffed his chips back into his vest, giving a kindhearted answer. "I eat a lot to _do_ things, but my family doesn't really call it a bloodline. We're the only people in the village who can do stuff like it though."

"Your parents call it the Multi-size technique." Shikamaru supplied, face down in his elbow. He waved his other hand in the air, showing he was awake, simply resting his head. "Choji's dad can grow and shrink his body, and they eat a lot to compensate for the caloric burn - which is a lot."

"But what about **_growing_** things from your body?" Sakura emphasized the question, putting herself in whatever line of danger her parents were trying to avoid. She was _so_ very close to becoming a kunoichi - it didn't make sense to dabble in fear. Death could take her away from her family before she learned the truth - or it could rob her, of them. Iruka put a thumb to his chin, tapping, tapping, tapping and pulled out a book on the shelf.

"That is an interesting question. We don't have any bloodlines like that in Konoha, however, I'm sure there are some people who can grow things from their body, as you say." Naruto and Sasuke caught her eye and showed their confusion and concern, but she shrugged, carefully withdrawing her digging interest for something more passive, more careful. He flipped through a few pages, giving a cursory scan of the text before he pointed one out.

"There are a few who can grow their hair to whatever length they desire, but I don't think that would be very useful in combat. They live in Iwagakure. Then there's another clan it says that can fuse and mold their bones into weapons, if they choose to. But it says that they were uh..." He trails off, brown eyes snapping to the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan. Iruka flushed a deep red and cleared his throat, voice cracking as he spoke. "There aren't many of them left."

Sasuke supplied breezily, though under the table, his hand was tightly clenched in Naruto's own - it was the only thing grounding him at this moment, feeling sick, having acknowledged that there were more clans that have been... dealt with. "W-well, urh, class dismissed! Go have lunch and meet with your prep-sensei. There's only a few weeks left until the exam that will qualify all of you as a ninja, and I'd love to see _everyone_ pass."

Before she left, the pink-haired girl rushed up and dug her fingers into the pages of the book that her teacher had in his hands. "Can I borrow this?"

Dumbfounded, distracted from the absurdity of the day and the quickness with which it dissolved, Iruka replied simply: "Uh, sure."

The way Sakura skipped from the class caught the eye of her friends, the thick tome cradled under an arm. Perhaps now, while earlier than her parents suspected or wanted, she'd have her answer.


	5. Chapter 5

When she came home, it was, frankly, a **disaster**.

The moment her mother saw the book, her daughter's nose deep in the beginning chapter, she yanked it from her hands. Papercuts stung, Sakura knew this, but they seemed to hurt more when they were caused by someone you loved.

"Sakura, how _dare_ you disobey us. Do you understand the danger you're putting yourself in? _Us_ , in?" Her mother shrieked, tossing the book at her husband. It hit his chest with a resounding whack, and he stumbled to catch it, looking helplessly to his daughter's palms, which ribboned with hints of budding blood. Her mother grabbed her arm and those hands wrapped around her mother's wrist, twisting and writhing as she was dragged, dragged, dragged into her room. A room without a window, nowadays, though her true room laid untouched and tidy, just up the stairs. Sakura began to cry, apologizing, frightened by her mother's ferocity. Never had the youngest Haruno thought to question her thirst for knowledge, and now, maybe, she regretted it.

"Mama, please! I just wanted to see if it was listed - you said you didn't _know_ the name!" She cried as she was thrown in, bumping against the wood that held her bed up from the ground. She turned and was met with a strong backhand, lurching to the side with an airless gasp. Green eyes sparkled with fear- this was the hardest she had been hit, oh what, _oh why_ , _**oh no**_ \-- and her mother's hand nested into long pink hair and yanked her so, so close. She could smell the jasmine tea on her mother's breath.

For a brief moment, she felt jealousy bubble within, but the tightening pain of her scalp and the growing sting on both cheeks had drawn her attention back to pleading, begging, gasping for mercy. A nail cut her cheek with a rough slap, and that was when her father stepped in to stop it all, grabbing his wife, prying her away with gentle pleas. "Come now, she just wanted to know what we know so little of."

"Isn't that terrifying to you?" She rebuttled, shoving him off of her, sweeping a grand gesture at their daughter, who cowered behind her pillow, clutching it close to her heaving chest.

"Do you want her to be taken away?"

"No, I-"

"Do you, I don't know, _**want**_ to be taken away? You _horrible, disobedient, **unfair** child_? Do you like the idea of us being tortured? Killed? Do you want to be alone, like that- that _Uchiha boy_?" She turned to her husband, who looked like he was about to cry, himself. "Do you want _her_ to be alone, her whole family murdered for something they can't control?"

"His name is Sasuke." Sakura whispered meekly, behind the pillow, to which her mother couldn't hear in her anger.

"That wouldn't happen, everyone knows that they were trying to rise up and that Uchiha boy-" Her father started shakily, trying to build up whatever courage he had to argue with his wife.

"His name is **_Sasuke_** and he is doing very well!" Sakura shouted angrily, yelping in fright as her mother whipped around and landed a solid whack at her waist - the pillow cushioned most of it, thankfully.

"You're staying in here for. A. Week." Mebuki punctuated the punishment, seething behind bared, white teeth.

"But mama, exams are-"

" _ **Shut up**_!" Her mother howled and slammed the door, leaving the girl alone, alone, alone with burning cheeks and scalding tears.


	6. Chapter 6

_Ino knew something was wrong, she always did._

When Sakura returned the next week flinching away from everyone, it was obvious. In the moments between the academy and home, on the walk with her father and mother, she told them that things weren't adding up. It had been some time since the Haruno family's daughter was allowed to visit. Ever since she had drank rose tea at the academy, from what he recalled. He had been keeping files on all of the students, Naruto and Sasuke being the thickest, as they were his patients. Something in his skin crawled, thinking that her folder might be growing in size, and soon.

Yet when Inojin and his beloved went to check up on Sakura and her family, all of them were sat quietly in their sitting room, calm and tranquil. That is, at the very least, what he told his daughter when she bombarded him at home. The door opened to a lot of rotten truths, of which the man of many minds noticed the moment he came in. Subtle physical tension, the way Sakura's spine stiffened when her mother lifted a cup, took a heavy breath, when her father cleared his throat. How Sakura constantly twirled and tugged a part of her hair at home, hyper-fixated on a door as he asked her questions. She refused to actually look at her mother.

That alone was telling in so many ways. Sort of like... how _Itachi_ was, during his sessions after Anbu had started stacking more responsibilities on the youth. Genius did **not** excuse how much stress they added to his life at his age. He clicked his tongue, kissing his wife on the temple. Inojin muttered that he'd be back after he sorted things.

Another key item caught his focus during his visit as well, and pitted in his stomach.

The door had a lock on the outside, and it was quickly decided he did not like that. Not at all. Rather than reporting in straight away though, to keep his daughter from overwhelming his, er, project, he found ways to gather evidence. If Sakura Haruno _**was**_ being abused by her parents, he needed to figure out _**all** _of the reasons. Accusations without evidence had cost him many young patients in his younger years. It only took a few lives lost to change his method.

If he was correct, this was the reason why she was excited about becoming a soldier of Kohonagakure: to escape. This left him with only one choice, to cause the least amount of damage to the pink-haired girl. When the last light went out, when all the noise stopped aside from Kizashi's snoring, he knew it was time. Honestly, it wasn't that hard to sneak in to a civilian home late at night. The lack of security in most residences was hilarious. There was no time to laugh, though.

The door to the back of their home, in their modest yard with no flowers to speak of (He frowned, knowing that his family had gifted them many bushes and flowers to plant. They had helped for days, beautifying the space.), was open. With cat-like finese, he crept in and went straight to the garbage, checking for rags stained dark. He found none and a tension he did not know he was hiding bled from his shoulders. Inojin did the same for the bathroom upstairs and down, and lastly, checked Sakura's room to find it empty. He walked to her desk and found dust in areas that it shouldn't be, a diary left untouched since last year, the bed undisturbed and stale smelling.

Immediately, the ninja walked downstairs, softening his footing with chakra, straight to the door with a lock. He slipped his sleeve over his hand and turned the lock, heart sinking as he saw Sakura, without blemish, sleeping in the dark. The sitting room light cast into the windowless room just enough to confirm she wasn't hurt.

Not this time, but what an unorthodox punishment for a child.

The door shut, lock turned... and the ninja stole into the night. Just two weeks left, and he'd find some time in between to let her know of her options, emancipation being the least opportune, but staying with them?

Yes, Sakura Haruno would **always** have a safe place at the Yamanaka Residence.


End file.
